Question for the electrical guys

ryanryan

ryanryan

New member
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
465
Age
39
Location
Southern Ontario, Canada
I am thinking about buying a 220v welder. The problem is, I don't have any room left in my main panel in my house. The only alternative I can think of is that I have a sub-panel for my hot tub. It is a 60 amp breaker in the main panel and the sub-panel has 4 "poles", 2 of which are being used for the 60 amp for the hot tub and 2 are left open.

So my first question is, can I use a 40 amp GFCI, instead of a 30 amp GFI? I have multiple 40's available to me for free, but I don't know if that is bad for the welder or no(it is supposed to have a 30 amp breaker, which is minimum though correct, there isn't a maximum is there?)? If I could use this, what do I do with the "piggy" wire? Wire it into the neutral port on the GFCI, or connect it to the neutral bar on the sub-panel itself(like it is supposed to be)? The reason for this is because the welder has a 3 prong plug, with no neutral. Or should I just wire the neutral wire into the GFCI, like it is supposed to be, and just cap off the other end that will go to the outlet with a marrette connector?

If none of that will work, I will need a normal 30 amp GFI, correct? Can I use this in the Siemens sub-panel I have as long as it is a Siemens breaker?

Is there anything else I can do since my main panel is full?

Other info:

Main panel is Stab-lok, Sub-panel is Siemens, pics below.

P.S. Sorry for the long post, I just like to completely explain myself!... This is the welder,
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...+Electric+MIG-Pak%AE+180+Wire+Feed+Welder.jsp
 

Attachments

  • 54.jpg
    54.jpg
    36.1 KB · Views: 4
  • 55.jpg
    55.jpg
    39.3 KB · Views: 2
  • 56.jpg
    56.jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 2
stein700sx said:
You would want to use a non-GFI for the welder. What is the main breaker 100 or 200?
What is the hot tub GFI breaker?
Click to expand...

Main is 100 amp. Hot tub is 60 amp. The other thing I was going to mention is that the hot tub has a circulation pump, that runs 24/7, which would only use around 5-10 amps, if that. So, the only thing is I wouldn't be able to weld while someone is in the hot tub with all of the jets, lights, radio, etc. on, or it would trip the 60 amp breaker in the main panel, most likely.
 
Last edited:
make sure the feed (wire) for the sub panel is great enough to withstand the tub and the welders draw at the same time. nusiance tripping of breakers is a pain but the melt down of wire in you're house really sucks.
 
blue missile said:
make sure the feed (wire) for the sub panel is great enough to withstand the tub and the welders draw at the same time. nusiance tripping of breakers is a pain but the melt down of wire in you're house really sucks.
Click to expand...

I would never use both at the same time and it's 6 gauge so it should be good.
 
yep you are go to go with the wire as long as you don't run both at one time.....The wire would probably handle the amp draw, but it all depends on what is going on....hot tub on full blast and welder on full blast=frozen tub!!! Right way to do it is condense other circuits and add it to the panel!! Or have an electrician out and put in a 200 amp panel. Because it sounds like you are way overloaded to start with the rule of thumb is 80% of full load.
 
Update....

Well, I picked up the welder today!

Below is a couple of pics of the plug...
57.jpg

58.jpg


This is a pic of the manual, and it talks about input: breaker, cable, fuses, etc.
59.jpg


So, after reading that, what wire should I use(10 gauge, 8 gauge?), and I should get a 40A breaker, like it says, for my sub-panel, correct? Or should I stick with 30A?

Thanks for all the help!
 
ryanryan said:
Well, I picked up the welder today!

Below is a couple of pics of the plug...
57.jpg

58.jpg


This is a pic of the manual, and it talks about input: breaker, cable, fuses, etc.
59.jpg


So, after reading that, what wire should I use(10 gauge, 8 gauge?), and I should get a 40A breaker, like it says, for my sub-panel, correct? Or should I stick with 30A?

Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...

Here is what i found for wire gauges http://electrical.about.com/od/wiringcircuitry/a/electwiresizes.htm
this all depends on how far your going to run the wires and if its in open air or in the walls.
When i did mine I ran 8 gauge to my garage with a 50 amp breaker and put the sub panel out there (about 20 feet)
My welder has 40 amp breaker and the air compressor is is 220 also and it has a 15 amp breaker plus the 20 amp for lights and plug ins and 15 amp for the garage furnace.
This all works great. This is just an example of what I did. Not sure if its right but it works.
Hope this helps
Mike
 
I ended up going with 10 gauge and a 30A breaker. I was thinking about going 8 gauge but the store I went to didn't have enough, so I decided to just go with 10. I still have to wire the breaker into the sub-panel but I got the all the wire run and the outlet installed in the garage.

Thanks everyone for all there help!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top